Holiday Sides Lightened Up

Does the thought of facing Thanksgiving dinner have you dusting off your elastic waist pants?  I’m here to tell you, no worries if you use some of my tricks for taking out the calories but leaving in the flavor.

I have been transforming my holiday and party recipes into delicious, low fat, low calorie dishes.  I had to take a big leap to try recipes that don’t start with bacon fat, but I promise, you won’t miss it!  Honest!   Here are a few I’ve already tested:

Fresh Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots

Instead of green bean casserole, try green beans with caramelized shallots.  I am very pleased with how easy this recipe is, but, wowee-delicious!  I caramelized the shallots in a teeny tiny bit of olive oil in a non-stick pan.  I cooked them over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.  They became lusciously browned with a bit of crunch.

GreenLine Trimmed and Washed Green Beans

I used the pre-cleaned bagged green beans that come in a microwavable plastic bag.  If you haven’t tried these yet, I must insist – try them – immediately!!  They have become my go-to vegetable, holiday or no holiday.  You poke a few holes in the bag with a fork and microwave them for four minutes.  Instant farm stand green beans with no fuss, no muss.

After I caramelized the shallots, I nuked the green beans.  I added them to the shallots and tossed to coat the beans with all that yummy shallot flavor.  Add a sprinkle of coarse ground sea salt and a bit of black pepper and serve.  I can’t believe how good these are!  And the best part, you can do the shallots ahead of time.  Let them hang out on the back of the stove until you are ready to serve.  Nuke the beans, toss together and this dish is ready in a flash.  Click here for the recipe.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries

How about fresh Brussels sprouts roasted with fresh cranberries?  Look how gorgeous they are.  And this is another, super easy side dish.  I tossed the Brussels sprouts with a tad bit of olive oil and spread them out on a foil lined cookie sheet.  I tossed the cranberries with a dressing I made from honey and orange juice (a tablespoon of each).  I sprinkled the coated cranberries over the Brussels sprouts and sprinkled everything with smoked sea salt.  Smoked sea salt??  Yeah baby, it’s all the rage and it has become my new favorite “tastes like bacon” ingredient.   You can find a wide variety of smoked salts in gourmet shops and online.

Hot from the oven and perfectly browned and beautiful!

Cut the Brussels sprouts in half and put them cut side down on a foil lined pan.  This way, they get evenly browned and beautiful.  Roast the sprouts and berries for 20 minutes at 435 degrees with no turning or stirring.   When you turn them into the serving bowl, give them a light spray of Pam and a fresh sprinkle of salt.  This dish will be a crowd pleaser!  Click here for the recipe.

Butternut Squash with Sage and Onion Brown Butter

Wait til you try this twist on the classic butternut squash side dish!  How about kicking up the flavor with sage and a hint of onion?  Who needs all that butter when you have those yummy holiday herbs and flavors added?  And my super-secret short cut for this dish – use frozen cooked butternut squash puree.  If you’re afraid you might be smited by the ghost of your great grandmother, then by all means, buy the fresh squash.  You can peel it, seed it, roast it and mash it if you like.  I tested the recipe both ways and couldn’t taste the difference when I used the frozen squash.  Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!  I think I was just poked by an ancestor!

Another trick to boost the flavor using less fat is to use “brown butter”  In a medium sauce pan, heat 2 teaspoons of butter until it becomes toasty and browned.  Be careful not to burn it, just lightly toast it until you can smell the nuttiness and see the slight browning of the butter.

Meanwhile, grate half of a large sweet onion.  Grate the onion on your box grater.  I guess you could use a food processor, but it is really easy to use the box grater.  You’ll end up with lot of onion juice and some onion pulp.  I like to use grated onion when I don’t want the onion chunks, but I want the fresh onion taste.  Add the grated onion and onion juice to the browned butter.  Saute over medium heat until most of the onion juice has evaporated.

Add a tablespoon of dried rubbed sage and saute for another minute or two.  I don’t recommend fresh sage for this dish.  I find fresh sage is good if it is cooked for a long time, but in a quick dish like this, fresh sage can taste bitter and has a medicinal flavor.

Add the pureed squash (fresh or frozen, I’ll never tell) to the onion sage mixture and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with a garnish of fresh sage leaves.  Delish delish delish!!  Two measly teaspoons of butter for the whole dish is plenty, thanks to the flavor boost from browning the butter and the onion and sage.  Added bonus – this dish can be made ahead of time and reheated.  Yay!!  I love make ahead holiday dishes!!  For the complete recipe, click here.

Pumpkin Pie Custard Cup

If you don’t have the calorie budget for pumpkin pie, or you can’t find your elastic waist pants, try this amazing knock off.  No-crust pumpkin pie custard cups with a dollop of fat free cool whip or fat free frozen vanilla yogurt.  You won’t miss the crust.  I tested this recipe by making a batch of the standard pumpkin pie filling, except I made a few substitutions.  I substituted fat free evaporated milk for the full fat kind.  Also, I used a little bit of real brown sugar and the rest Splenda artificial sweetener.  I used whole eggs because you need the yolks to make a good custard.  I added the standard spices and poured the mixture into custard cups that had been sprayed with Pam.  I baked them for about 50 minutes at 350.  Really really good.  Try the recipe by clicking here!

Tamales!

Aromatic Mole Rubbed Chicken Legs

I pulled out an old favorite cookbook and immersed myself in southwestern cuisine.  The book is, Cayote Cafe by Chef Mark Miller.   When I aquired this book, twenty some odd years ago, it was so edgy I didn’t know what most of the ingredients were, let alone where to get them.  For example, the book includes recipes for tomatillo salsa, ancho chile rubbed rabbit, poblano pesto and grilled nopales (cactus leaves).  Sounds pretty ordinary for these days, right?

Revisiting the book inspired me to create a mole rub for meat.  I mixed together; Hershey’s dark cocoa powder (unsweetened), instant espresso powder, cumin, ancho chile powder, dried oregano, salt and a bit of raw sugar.  I rubbed it on some skinless chicken legs and cooked them for my husband, David and I.  Wow!  We were both, completely blown away by these chicken legs!  The coffee acted as a meat tenderizer, the sugar created a crusty coating that sealed in all the juices and the chocolate and spices added flavor and aromas that knocked us over. I knew I had to make these chicken legs for company.

Tamales Tied With Corn Husk Ribbons

I was also inspired by a variety of tamale recipes in the cook book.  I had never made tamales before.  I think I had only eaten them once or twice before, but none the less, I ventured forth on a tamale quest.  There is a lot involved in making tamales and a variety of methods, wrappers and fillings.

In addition to the recipes in the Cayote Cafe cook book, I searched through three other Mexican cook books I have.  (I know what you’re thinking.  “Why does she have so many Mexican cook books?”  Ha!  Are you kidding me?  Name a cuisine and ask me if I have a book on it.)

I was a little frustrated with what I found on tamale making.  None of the books were very clear on the tamale process from start to finish.  I watched “you-tube” videos on tamale making and they weren’t very clear either.  The best instructions I found were in the Cayote Cafe book, so with a few minor adjustments, I forged ahead.

Tamales Stacked In The Steamer

You can’t make just a few tamales.  You have to make twenty or thirty at a time because you need to pack them, vertically in a steamer, and if the steamer isn’t packed full, the tamales fall over and the filling runs out.  So my next quandary was, if I make all these tamales, who can I get to eat them all?

I decided to add my newly created mole chicken legs to my tamale menu and I invited my friend Becky and her husband, Ed over for dinner.  Perfect!  They are both good sports about trying new things.  Becky brought the wine and an apple pie for dessert. Ed always brings good conversation with a dash of hilarity, always a great thing to have at a dinner party.

Plum Tomatoes Roasted With Cumin and Lime Juice

I paired the chicken and tamales with a batch of plum tomatoes roasted with cumin and a spritz of lime juice.  This simple side dish balanced the plate with freshness, flavor and color.   I adapted a recipe from Ina Garten that I have made often.  She slices fresh plum tomatoes and places them on a cookie sheet.  She drizzles them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkles them with salt and a bit of sugar to bring out the fresh tomato flavor.  She roasts them in a hot oven for 25 minutes.  They are super yummy and a synch to make.  I changed up her recipe to accommodate my Mexican menu.  Instead of using balsamic vinegar, I used fresh lime juice and I added a sprinkle of cumin.  The changes turned out to be subtle, but perfect for my menu.

The Menu:

• Home made baked corn chips
• Roasted tomatillo guacamole
• Mole rubbed chicken legs
• Tamales stuffed with roasted poblano chiles and Queso Fresco (fresh white Mexican cheese)
• Roasted plum tomatoes with cumin and lime juice
• Apple Pie

Pan Seared Tuna With Soba Noodles and Bok Choy

Mum was brave today!  I served a Japanese menu featuring seared ahi tuna, something, I’m sure, Mum has never had.  Her palate is decidedly English.  I imagine English menus as boiled, unseasoned plain food.   I suppose English food is sometimes dressed up with a bit of curry or some other spices rooted in their imperialist days, but generally, it has never sounded pleasant to me.  Kidney pie, kippers, clotted cream and all sorts of odd puddings – blech!

Seared Tuna with Soba Noodles and Bok Choy

Anyway, I digress.  For Mum’s big adventure, I served pan seared ahi tuna on a bed of wilted bok choy with a side of soba noodles sauteed with shiitake mushrooms and edamame.   I served a small cup of a sesame soy dipping sauce for the tuna.  I was so pleased with how it turned out.  Everything was super simple to make, but so delicious and very beautiful on the plate.

I marinated the tuna in soy, rice wine vinegar, sriracha sauce (sweet and hot Asian chili sauce), garlic, ginger and green onion.  And I added a bit of brown sugar to the marinade too.  I figured the sugar would help create a nice caramelization on the fish when I seared it.  It worked great!  I marinated the fish for about 2 hours.  I seared it on all sides in a pan of hot peanut oil.  Just a minute or two on each side.  I let it rest for 5 minutes before I sliced it.  While it was resting, I assembled the soba noodle side dish.

Soba noodles are a Japanese pasta made from buckwheat.  They taste sort of like whole wheat pasta, but a little more creamy.  While the soba noodles were boiling in salted water, I sauteed garlic, ginger, green onions, matchstick carrots and edamame.  Edamame are shelled soy beans.  They have a very delicate flavor and when cooked, their texture is somewhat like a sweet pea or a little like a lima bean.   I thought they added a nice touch of color and texture to the noodles.

I had washed and chopped the bok choy ahead of time.  I also sauteed the crunchy lower stems ahead of time.  At the last minute I reheated the pan and added the chopped leafy green portion of the bok choy.  It wilts in seconds, so a quick toss in the hot pan and it was ready to plate.

For the dipping sauce, I used the left over tuna marinade.  I heated it to a boil, added just a drop of sesame oil (no more than a drop, that stuff is potent!) and poured a little into some pretty sake cups I have.  They made the perfect vessel for the sauce.

Mum ate the noodles first and quite enjoyed them.  I could tell she was very leery about the tuna on her plate.  She pushed it around a bit, cut a few small pieces, pushed them around for a bit longer and then, finally took the plunge!  A quick dip in the sauce and into her mouth.  I so enjoyed the look on her face.  A combination of relief and pleasure.  She finished all the tuna and everything else on her plate.  She actually enjoyed all of it.  I was a little relieved myself.

I searched for Asian dessert recipes and fell a little short.  I ended up making a fruit compote of pineapple, mango and banana with dark rum and cinnamon.  I served it warm over vanilla ice cream.  It was delicious.  It seemed more tropical than Asian, but rather exotic, none the less.

I was inspired to prepare this menu by a Food Network show starring Anne Burrell.  I love her style and her quirky personality.  She is an amazing chef and she prepared a similar menu and made it look so easy.  As it turned out, it was very easy to make and it looked and tasted fantastic!

Cedar Planked Salmon

Salmon with Brown Sugar, Coffee and Cumin on Cedar Plank

I call this salmon dish, “Cowboy Salmon” because it is an adaptation of a fabulous meal I saw prepared on Bobbie Flay’s grilling show.  He had a guest chef on the program, who is known as “The Epicurean Cowboy”.  He made this spice rubbed, cedar planked salmon as an ingredient for his fish tacos.  The spice rub is made from brown sugar, crushed coffee beans and cumin.  I was so intrigued by the idea, I just had to try it.

I made it a few weeks ago for a party I hosted for my tennis girlies.  It was our end of season bash and I opted for two different kinds of fish tacos, homemade chips and salsa, and margaritas.  The party was a huge success.  The gals are still talking about it.  However, I was so busy getting everything set up and served that I never had time to get photos of the party or the party food.  I knew I wanted to make this salmon again, so I could photograph it and publish the recipe.

The Epicurean Cowboy serves his salmon with a spicy coleslaw on warm corn tortillas, which is how I served it at my party.  But for my re-do I morphed the concept into something suitable for one of my Sunday dinners with my mother-in-law.  Tacos seem a little too casual for Sunday dinner, so I deconstructed the recipe for my own purposes.  I served the salmon, grilled and flaked.  I served a spicy coleslaw on the side.

Grilled Polenta with Green Chiles and Cilantro

And instead of corn tortillas, I decided to make a grilled polenta.  Polenta is typically an Italian dish, but I mixed things up and made it with a Mexican twist.  I added roasted green chiles, green onions, crumbled Mexican cheese and a splash of lime juice.  I grilled the polenta and garnished it with a little fresh cilantro.  Wow, it was really amazing!  I liked the pairing with the salmon even better than the original corn tortillas.

MENU:

• Cedar Planked Salmon With Spicy Rub
• Grilled Polenta With Roasted Green Chiles and Queso Fresco
• Baja Coleslaw With Lime And Cilantro
• Mango Cheesecake With Lemon Basil Syrup

Cedar Planked Salmon and Grilled Polenta

For the salmon, I used a cedar plank I had left over from my party.  The plank needs to be soaked in water for at least an hour before it can be put on the grill.  The idea is for the plank to smoke and add smoky flavor to the fish.  If the plank is too dry, it will catch fire.  I set the plank in my utility sink on my patio and turned the water on.  It’s a big sink, and I wanted to fill it, so I left the water running, while I went back inside to work on another dish.  Well, I got busy and lost track of the running water.  When I thought of it, I ran out to see how bad it was.  As suspected, the water was pouring over the top of the sink onto the patio floor.  It was a nice little flood but no real harm done.  The patio floors are really clean and shiny now.  Terrific!  Maybe I’ll do things the same way, the next time I’m soaking planks.

Cedar Planked Salmon with Spicy Brown Sugar Glaze

The salmon is dusted with a heavy dose of the spice rub, about a cup per pound of fish.  I threw a handful of the rub onto the damp cedar plank, then set the filet on top of that.  I added another generous handful of the spice rub to the top of the fish.  I grilled it in the center of the grill on high.

The aroma from the smoking cedar is unbelievable.  The sugar in the spice rub, caramelizes and creates a beautiful glaze on both sides of the fish.

For the polenta, I used and instant polenta, which is sometimes labeled, “pre-cooked”.  It looks like fine corn meal.  The regular polenta requires about 45 minutes of cooking and stirring.  The instant kind cooks in about 5 minutes.  I used chicken stock instead of water for more flavor.  I added a small can of roasted green chiles, Ortega brand.  You can roast your own peppers if you want, but the canned or jarred ones are just as good.  I don’t take many short cuts when I cook, but I don’t mind using the jarred roasted peppers at all.

I added chopped green onions and diced Mexican cheese, queso fresco.  It is a fresh, mild white cheese.  I wished I had bought the melting kind, but instead I bought the crumbling kind.  It turned out great anyway.  The cheese cubes remained whole and they picked up nice grill marks for even more flavor when I grilled the polenta.  After cooking the polenta thoroughly, I poured it into a buttered 9 by 12 pan.  I covered it with plastic wrap and refrigerated it for about an hour.

Polenta with Roasted Green Chiles Ready for the Grill

I cut the chilled polenta into squares, drizzled it with a little olive oil and gave it a liberal sprinkle of coarse sea salt.  I grilled it on a hot grill and it took longer than I had expected to get good grill marks.  I checked it after 5 minutes and there were no grill marks.  I was a little surprised, but I let it cook on and I got great grill marks after about 10 minutes per side.

Baja Cole Slaw with Lime, Cilantro and Green Chiles

I love, love, love to mix up coleslaw to suit my tastes.  I use the bagged coleslaw mix and add my own dressings and add-ins.  Sometimes I give it an Asian twist with a little sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce, or I might give it a Thai flair with fish sauce, chile peppers, sugar and rice vinegar.  For this menu, I used my “South of the Border” flavor mix.  I made the dressing out of lime juice and mayonnaise.  I added diced jalapeno peppers, red onions and chopped fresh cilantro.  It was so fresh and tasty.  An excellent complement to the rich flavored fish and starchy polenta.  It balanced the whole plate.

Mango Cheesecake with Lemon Basil Syrup

Some of you may think everything I serve turns out the way I want it to.  Trust me, that is not true.  Case in point, is the dessert I served with this menu.  I saw Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network, make an unusual cheesecake.  She made mango cheesecake with a lemon, basil syrup.  It looked gorgeous on the television.  I really wanted to try to make it, and I thought it would go perfectly with this menu.  Well, my syrup turned out a weird shade of green that didn’t look appetizing at all.  The cheesecake was too wet and sort of fluffy.  I think cheesecake should be dense and flavorful.  This didn’t have much flavor and I just couldn’t get past the green sauce.  I’m not going to put the recipe on my site, but if you think it sounds good to you, Google it and you can easily find the recipe.

Retro Revival

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Sometimes all things trendy seem a little too far inside the box for me.  Does all good food have to be the latest fad from the outer reaches of the world?

Once in a while I like to go back to a good old standard, a classic.  That’s what I did here.  I went retro with bacon wrapped scallops.  They were so easy and so good, I may try that other old retro, bacon wrapped Filet Mignon for next week!

To prevent the scallops from becoming over done, I pre-cooked the bacon in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Then I wrapped the scallops and secured them with double skewers and popped them on the grill.  They took about 10 minutes total on the grill.  I rolled them over to the bacon side to make sure the bacon was nice and crispy.  They came out perfectly!  The scallop was so tender and juicy, not overdone at all.  And the bacon was crispy and delicious.  The bacon added such a gorgeous flavor to the scallops.  I’m not sure why anyone would ever prepare scallops without it.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops With Summer Squash and Pine Nuts

The bacon and scallops are fairly rich and I wanted a vegetable that was light and fresh.  I paired the scallops with a summery zucchini dish, “mixed summer squashes with toasted pine nuts”.  Super simple to make, it was surprisingly tasty.   I loved the way it looked on the platter with the scallops.

Ensalada Caprese

I went with one of my old standbys for a side salad.  I prepared ensalada caprese, family style.  It’s the classic Italian combination of fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.  I chop it all up, passing dish style.  Then, drizzle with a little olive oil, splash a little rice wine vinegar and toss it with a generous amount of coarse sea salt.  Yummm!  Everyone always loves this salad.

The Menu:

• Grilled Bacon Wrapped Scallops
• Summer Squashes with Toasted Pine Nuts
• Ensalada Caprese – Family Style
• Chocolate Mousse Pie (I bought 2 slices, which were eaten long before I could snap a picture.  So, no picture, no recipe.)

 

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Moroccan Surf and Turf

Lamb and Shrimp Kebabs with Spicy Harissa Dipping Sauce

The inspiration for this exotic menu was the July, 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.  Bulgarian born chef, Silvena Rowe took a play on American classic, surf and turf and gave it a wonderful Moroccan twist.  She combined ground lamb with chopped shrimp to create these whimsical kebabs.  I followed her recipe exactly as written and it came out beautifully.  She includes fresh chopped cilantro, ground cumin, garlic and grated red onion for a fabulously aromatic kebab that had us all swooning when I brought them in from the grill.

I made her harissa sauce and didn’t care much for it.  Harissa is a spicy red pepper sauce or relish made with a variety of red chili peppers, vinegar and spices.  The Bon Appetit recipe had a very “raw” taste, so I cooked it for about five minutes in a saute pan.  It still tasted too harsh for me, so I added some Greek yogurt and that mellowed it out more to my liking.  I also made a different dipping sauce, altogether.  I made a creamy yogurt sauce seasoned with the Arabic spice mix Za’atar and cumin.  Everyone liked that sauce better.  However, when I served the remaining kebabs the following day as an appetizer, the harissa had mellowed out and we liked it much better on day two.

I paired the kebabs with a classic Moroccan side dish, couscous.  While shopping at Fresh Market, I found an amazing couscous.  The brand is Marrakesh Express, and the version is CousCous Grande, “creamy pearls of pasta”.  Instead of the teeny tiny little couscous granules, this was great big pearls of couscous.  I thought it complemented the kebabs perfectly.

Couscous with Fresh Oregano and Moroccan Glazed Baby Carrots

Fresh Market had beautiful baby carrots, so I decided to make my morphed version of Julia Child’s glazed carrots.  I followed her recipe except I added garam masala, an Indian spice mix that includes cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin and ground coriander seeds.  There are a million variations of garam masala and some people make their own.  I prefer to buy a good quality prepared version.  It is very aromatic and adds a touch of exotic to whatever you put it on.

Pound Cake with Peaches and Cream

For Dessert, I opted for a fabulous, super-easy recipe from the July, 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Magazine.  She used store bought pound cake (I know, isn’t it scandalous?!), fresh peaches and whipped cream.  When I saw that recipe, I thought, “now here’s a dessert I might be able to make”.  My regular readers know I struggle with baking.  It’s way too exacting for me.  But, store bought cake with fresh fruit?  It doesn’t get any easier.  The recipe delivered.  It was beautiful and delicious.  Of course I can never leave well enough alone, so I added a pinch of cinnamon to the peaches.  The cinnamon sort of tied it into the whole Moroccan thing.

The menu:

• Moroccan Surf and Turf  – Lamb and Shrimp Kebabs
• Glazed Baby Carrots with Moroccan Spice
• Pearly Couscous with Fresh Oregano
• Pound Cake with Peaches and Cream

Jamaican Jerk For Cousin Jane

My husband’s cousin Jane flew in from New York for a sunny break from the miserable weather up north.  She  came in with David’s sister, Mary Anne, who lives in Connecticut.  Mary Anne and Jane are like sisters.  They grew up together and get together often as adults.  My regular readers know I like to put on the Florida/Tropical/Caribbean dog when the yankees come to visit.  I like to make sure my guests know they are not in “Kansas” anymore.

Jerk Chicken On The Grill, Whole Split Chicken Plus Extra Legs

So, in that vein I came up with the following menu for Mary Anne and Jane’s visit:

• Jamaican Jerk Chicken on the Grill
• Mock Coconut Rice or Real Coconut Rice if you like
• Creamy Jamaican Greens (Callaloo)
• Refreshing Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Flower Tea)
• Key Lime Panna Cotta

I was doing my no-carb thing, so everything was made with no or very little carbs.  For the coconut rice, I used my “mock coconut rice”  recipe.  It is actually made out of fresh cauliflower that is riced in the food processor.  Most people can not tell the difference and are truly amazed when I tell them it is not rice.  Jane was no different, she was shocked!

Apparently Jane does not eat vegetables because she hates them.  I wasn’t aware of this, so I felt pretty pleased when she absolutely loved my mock rice and – shock of all shocks –  she had seconds on the creamy Jamaican greens!

Callaloo - Jamaican Greens With Smoked Turkey and Coconut Milk

I was wanting to stick as close as possible to my Jamaican theme, so I used Jamaican Callaloo, a hearty and sturdy green native to Jamaica.  You can easily substitute Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale or whatever you normally like.   The method is to boil the greens with a smoked turkey wing, leg or neck, whichever you can find.  The salty smoked meat imparts a fabulous flavor to the greens.  Callaloo takes a long time to get tender, so I boiled it for about an hour.  I drained it, and drizzled a little coconut milk over it and tossed in some of the turkey meat that I pulled off the bone.  It was really delicious.  Jane proved it!

Mock Coconut Rice Made With Cauliflower

The mock coconut rice is a synch to make if you have a food processor.  I put the ricing blade on and pushed the cauliflower through it to get the small, rice-like pieces.  I pulled out the bigger pieces and set aside for another use.  It cooks really fast, so I brought some chicken stock with some coconut milk to a boil and added the cauliflower.  I only cooked it for about seven minutes.  I drained it, added my secret ingredient, a couple of drops of coconut extract.  I seasoned it with salt and onion powder.  I added chopped green onion and fresh cilantro, reserving some of both for garnish.  I swear, you will fool your guests and yourself with this clever lo-carb side dish!

I found the dried hibscus flower buds at a large Jamaican market in the Fort Lauderdale area called Broward Meat And Fish Company.   It is an amazing market!  The first time I went in, I was so overwhelmed I left without buying anything.  Everything was so exotic, so foreign to me, I didn’t know where to start.  But I went back, and now I go all the time.  They have tons of specialty food items from Jamaica, Haiti, Brazil, as well as other places.

Refreshing Jamaican Cocktail

They have a huge fresh seafood counter, another huge meat counter and a fabulous prepared food counter.  You can buy goat meat or oxtails along with the usual chicken, beef or pork.  They sell fish I’ve never even heard of!  I found a package of what I thought was dried morel mushrooms.  When I got them home, I realized the package said, Dried Sorrel – oops!  It turns out dried sorrel is Jamaican hibiscus flower buds.   So, I did a little research and came up with a very refreshing cocktail made with Hibiscus/Sorrel flower tea and ginger ale.  I used Splenda to sweeten the tea and sugar-free ginger ale, but you could use sugar if you like.  I offered the cocktail “virgin” or “slutty”, as I am want to do.  The “slutty” version had a bit of Jamaican rum added – yummy!  As I recall, we were all “slutty” that evening.

Key Lime Panna Cotta

When I’m doing the no-carb thing at my house, everyone has to do the no-carb thing.  So, for dessert I made a sugar free panna cotta and flavored and colored it with key lime extract.  It was very pretty and everyone loved it.

It was great to see Jane and Mary Anne and I hope I may have inspired Jane to eat a vegetable once in a while!  Come back soon, gals!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Hot Off The Grill

Up With People Kids In Town

My husband and I had the pleasure of hosting four young men from the international traveling troupe, “Up With People”, while they were performing in Fort Lauderdale.  The boys stayed with us for eight days.  Some folks might think the task of feeding four hungry young men every day for eight days overwhelming, but me?  I was in heaven!

We had two boys from Japan; Hiroaki and Yasuhiro and two boys from Mexico; Packo and Sergio.  All spoke beautiful English, so communicating was no trouble at all.  Each morning David took them into Fort Lauderdale where they did community service work or rehearsed.  Each evening, David picked them up and they arrived at our house tired and hungry.  What a boon for me!  I planned my menu trying to choose things that were universally likable, taking special consideration for the “clean” food style of Japan.

Here is what I served each day:

Saturday

• Poached Salmon with Fresh Dill and Lemon
• Steamed Green Beans with Butter
• Roasted Multi-Colored New Potatoes
• Key-Lime Pie

Poached Salmon with Fresh Dill and Lemon

Mixed Roasted New Potatoes

Sunday

• Puerto Rican Pulled Pork
• Coconut Rice
• Creamy Collard Greens
• Guava Pastries with Vanilla Ice Cream

Puerto Rican Pork Roast

Coconut Rice

Monday

• Grilled Chicken Thighs with Crispy Skin
• Bow Tie Pasta with Chunky Fresh Tomato Sauce
• Insalata Caprese Salad
• Roasted Summer Squashes
• Ice Cream Sundaes

Insalata Caprese

Grilled Chicken with Crispy Skin

Tuesday

• Salmon Burgers
• Big-Boy Mac and Cheese
• Tossed Green Salad
• Warm Brownies with Chocolate Sauce

Big-Boy Mac N Cheese

Wednesday

• Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Mango Salsa
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Ice Cream Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Thursday

• The boys had a concert at the Bank Atlantic Center during a Florida Panthers Hockey game, so they ate dinner on the road.

Friday

• Sister Patti’s Grilled Ribeye Steaks
• Baked Potatoes with the Works
• Fennel and Feta Salad with Lemon and Dill
• Apple Pie

Crisp Fennel With Feta, Lemon and Dill

Saturday

• The boys had their big concert and ate during all day rehearsals.  The show was fantastic!

Sunday

• The boys cooked for us!
• Mole Chicken Breast
• Mixed Vegetables and Rice
• Japanese Cabbage & Bacon Pancake (Okonomiyaki)

It was an honor and a pleasure to host these fine young men in our home.  We wish them well in their travels and performances.  I heard they were in the Czeck Republic when this article was posted.

Yasuhiro, Packo, Hiroaki and Sergio Cooking

Japanse Pancake with Crispy Seaweed Flakes

Hiroakis Skillfull Flipping

Mixed Vegetables and Rice With Mexican Seasoning

Packo and Sergios Mole Chicken

Fun With Wigs and David's old "Up With People" Albums Yasuhiro, Hiroaki, Sergio and Packo

Mama Mia’s Ultimate Meatballs

Spaghetti and the Ultimate Meatball

Are you looking for some comfort food that is upscale enough for company?  These ultimate meatballs are loaded with fresh ingredients and served with a simple fresh tomato and herb sauce over whole wheat spaghetti.  Ha!  So they are good for you too!

Top the dish off with a quick grate of aged parmigiano-reggiano and a sprig of fresh basil and you have a show stopper.

Steaming Hot Spaghetti and Meatballs

You can dish up individual bowls in the kitchen to make sure each dish looks fantastic, or you can serve the whole thing family style at the table.  I used a big wooden salad bowl to give the dish that rustic Italian look.  It was just gorgeous.  And did I mention how delicious this dish is?  Wowee, one of the best things I’ve made in a long time.

I was inspired by Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Meatball show.  He had gone to Italy in search of the ultimate meatball.  He found several locally famous Italian chefs who mentored him on how to make the ultimate meatball.  Each of the chefs had their own special twists, and Tyler gave the recipe his own special twist, and I, of course, gave everything my final twist.  I should have played some Chubby Checker while I was doing all that twisting!   (I had to look that up in Wikipedia.  I am way too young to know who Chubby Checker is.)

I made the meatballs with sirloin, pork and veal.  I sauteed some diced onion and parsley first.  I used a half a loaf of french baguette and took the crust off, then pulled it into small pieces.  I soaked it in some milk for about ten minutes, then drained it.  I mixed the meat, soggy bread, onion, parsley, some fresh chopped basil, some grated Parmesan cheese and FOUR eggs along with salt and pepper.  All the Italian Mama Mia’s said to only mix long enough to pull everything together.  The more you mix, the tougher the meatball.  So, ever so gently, I mixed everything together.

Ready to pop in the oven

Once mixed, I formed a handful of the soggy mixture into good sized balls and rolled them in a dish of dried breadcrumbs.  I plopped the breaded meatballs into a large fry pan with a little olive oil and browned them on two sides.  I removed them from the fry pan and set them into a 9 by 13 glass baking dish.

In a separate saute pan, I made a very simple, fresh tomato sauce.  I used the small tomatoes that come attached to the vine.  I didn’t peel or seed them.  I just cut them up into fairly large chunks and sauteed them in olive oil with garlic, onion and fresh basil.  I didn’t saute for very long, just a few minutes.  Then I poured this mixture all over the meatballs in the 9 by 13 pan.  I topped everything off with fresh mozzarella that I had torn into small pieces.  A final grating of fresh parmigiano-reggiano and the whole thing went into the oven for only 30 minutes.

Just out of the oven

When the meatballs where done, I removed them to a platter and covered them with tin foil.  I scraped all the remaining tomato sauce and tomato bits from the baking dish into a saute pan (the same one I used to make the sauce in the first place).

Meanwhile, I had put a pot of water on for the spaghetti.  I used whole wheat pasta, but you can use whatever kind you like.  Just before the spaghetti was done, I took a couple ladlefulls of pasta water and added it to the saute pan with the rest of the tomato sauce.  I added about a cup of beef stock and a squeeze of tomato paste (or a tablespoon if using a can of paste).  I stirred that all together, then added the cooked spaghetti right from the pot of hot water to the saute pan.  No need to drain the pasta.  Just scoop it up with tongs and add it to the sauce in the saute pan.  Gently toss the pasta with the sauce to completely coat the pasta.

At this point you can arrange some of the pasta in individual dishes and top each with a meatball, some parmigiana and a fresh sprig of basil, or you can arrange a large family size platter or bowl with the spaghetti topped with all the meatballs, a bit of parmigiana and some fresh basil.  Either way, it will be a wowee dish!  I hope your guests enjoy this as much as mine did.

Here is the link for the recipe:

Mama Mia’s Ultimate Meatballs

Classics Rock! Shrimp Scampi

Baked Shrimp Scampi with Panko Crumble

I was feeling nostalgic and decided to go for a classic, Shrimp Scampi.  My husband had some amazing shrimp scampi about 30 years ago and he has been on a quest to find the scampi of his memories ever since.  Sadly, nothing ever seems to compare.  Is it the scampi or is it his memory?  Hmmm…

Shrimp Scampi with Roasted Vegetables

Do I get discouraged?  Hell no!  I keep trying every scampi recipe I can find.  “Is this the one dear?”, I ask each time.  Well, those of you who know me or know my husband, know what the answer is.  So, I keep trying!

The one I made this time was Ina Garten’s baked shrimp scampi recipe.  It is crusted with panko crumbs, butter and garlic.  It sounded like a wonderful recipe.  I thought it was fantastic!  My guests loved it too.  My husband loved it, but it was not the scampi from the bowels of his memories.  Do memories have bowels?  Probably not, but you know what I mean.

Roasted Vegetables with Parsley

I paired the scampi up with a very colorful vegetable roast. I roasted small new potatoes in three different varieties, red skin, Yukon golds and purple fingerlings.  I added cherry tomatoes and fresh green beans for a one dish wonder.

 

I didn’t take any pictures of dessert.  I took the easy way out and served ice cream with chocolate sauce.  Mum adores ice cream and so does David, so even though I consider it cheating to serve ice cream for a meal that I’m blogging, I went with it just this once.